Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology 2(3): 268-273, 2010
ISSN: 2040-7467
© M axwell Scientific Organization, 2010
Submitted Date: March 18, 2010
Accepted Date: April 03, 2010
Published Date: May 10, 2010
Experimental Emulsified Diesel and Benzen Investigation
Say el M . Fayyad, Suleiman Abu-Ein, Ghazi Al-Marahleh, W aleed Al-M omani
Muntaser Al-Momani, Zaid Abulghanam, Om ar Badran and Taiseer Abu-Rahm ah
Departm ent of Mechanical Engineering, Facu lty of Engineering Techno logy ,
P.O. Box 15008, Al Balqa Ap plied University, Amman, Jordan
Abstract: This study presents an experimental investigation of emulsified fuels as an operating material for
vehicle eng ines. W ater in fuel blends is still relatively unknown and unaccepted by the majority of people.
Introducing water into the combustion chamber has been around for more than one time, through water
injection systems and emulsification of water into fuel. Adding water to fules will reduce bad emissions of the
vehicles. It is found that brake power, engine power and also the engine torque have been improved with the
emu lsified fuels for both diese l and benze n till 25% water percentag e add ition.
Key w ords: Brake power, emissions, emulsions, engine, fuel blends, torque
INTRODUCTION
The dreaming of addin g water to fuel began in 1931
by Joseph Vance, up of (40-60)% of water was added to
the liquid hydrocarbons fuel, and achieved the theory in
1991 on hand Rudolf W.Gunnremans - Water emulsified
in fuel –where the mixing procedure and the water content
in the emulsified fuel were modified (Gunnerman and
Russe l, 2003).
In 1931 Joseph Vance suggested application related
to proce ss for m aking liquid fuel use in heating apparatus
or combustion engines. Emulsified fuel is defined as
adding water to the fuel then mixed together by adding
specific additives as shown in Fig. 1. Many researches
focused in using water w ith fuel as a emulsified fu el,
Yatsufusa et al. (2009), studied the effect of water
addition to fuel by emulsification on combustion and
emission characteristics using air-assisted fuel atomizing
burner. Water addition elongates the combustible range to
higher fuel equivalence ratio side by reduction of PM
emission. The water addition also reduces NOx emission
drastically. Although the reduction of NOx is caused by
the reduc tion of locally high temperature region, the
reduction of global flame tempe rature is n ot significant,
thus thermal penalty by adding water is negligible. Water
addition is also effective to reduce PM emission
especially in higher fuel eq uivalence ratio (Yatsufusa
et al., 2009).
Alahmer et al. (2009), the performance of an engine
together with its effect on env ironmen t were tested when
engine was powered by both pure diesel and emulsified
fuel with various quantities of water content in the diesel
fuel. The amount of water quantities added ranged
between 5 and 30% by volume. The engine speed during
the experimental work was w ithin the ra nge from 1 000 to
3000 rpm. W hile producing sim ilar or greater thermal
efficiency and improved NOx emission outcomes use of
the emu lsion also results in an increase in brake specific
fuel consumption. It was also found that, at high amount
of water addition, the nitrogen ox ide decreases. Also, in
general, the diesel emulsion fuel emitted an amount
of CO2 higher than that of pure diesel (Alahmer
et al., 2009).
Jae et al. (2000), combustion characteristics of the
emulsified diesel fuels were investigated in a Rapid
Compression and Expansion Machine -RCE-. Among the
test cases the 40 W/O fuel injected at BTDC 20° has
shown the best performance with respect to the efficiency
and NOx and soot emissions. The pressure trace of the 40
W /O fuel is characterized by a longer ignition delay and
a lower rate of pressure rise in premixed combustion.
High-speed photographs show reduc ed flam e luminosity
and lower flame temperature with the increasing W /O
ratio, (Jae et al., 2000). Micro-explosions of emulsified
fuel droplets, which affect the local shape and brightness
of the flame, are identified in magnified flame images
(Harbach and A gosta, 1991; Abu -zaid, 2004a ).
The present work aims to conducting the usage of
different percent of emulsified fuels experimentally in
order to find the optimal mixture of such emulsion, and
measuring its effects on the operation of the engine.
MATRIALS AND METHODS
Different percentage s of w ater w ere added to both
benzen and diesel fules and then injected to an internal
Corresponding Author: Sayel M. Fayyad, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Technology, P.O. Box
15008, Al Balqa Applied University, Amman, Jordan
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Res. J. Appl. Scil Eng. Technol., 2(3): 268-273, 2010
Fig. 1: Emulsion contents
combustion engine, the ex perimen ts were indu cted in
2007, at the Faculty of Engineering Technology (BAU)
labroteries and at University of Jordan labroteries Amman-Jordan.
milky color related to the surfactant addition (Abu-zaid,
2004b; Gunnerman and Russel, 2003; Tsukahara and
Yoshimoto, 1992).
Water diesel and benzene emulsion fuel contents: The
function of emulsifier or “surfactant” as co mm only
named is mainly to stabilize water in diesel mixture,
which can’t be maintained by natural mixing of diesel
with water, because of their different densities and forces
of surface tension exist at the separation zone of the two
substances, surfactant reduce surface tension forces, so
that perm it two different densities liquids to mix w ith
stable chem ical com position, that aid the formation and
retention of emulsion. Chemical composition of surfactant
shows that it consists of two parts Hydrophilic and
Hydrophobic, hydrophilic moiety has tendency to react
with water, on the other hand, hydrophobic moiety has
tendency to react with oil. Surfactant has many types,
forms, and purposes it divided into two main
classifications: organic and non-organic surfactants. It can
be liquid (with high density) or pow der, or other forms,
each form used in specific purposes, and it covers wide
range of industrial uses, it used in nutrition industries,
medical industries, and chemical industries, especially in
cosmetics and cleaning prod ucts industries (Harbach
and A gosta, 1991).
Many tests carried out on the propose d em ulsion to
reach the suitable long-life emulsion and use it in this
study. In this study the test of stability applied on tw o
600 ml samples both have 75% diesel, 25% water 2.5%
emulsifier composition was added all based on total
volume of emulsion 1 st sample contain tape water (named
sample A), while in the second sample used
dematerialized water (named sample B), to investigate
which one is more effective emulsion stability.
Dematerialized water as shown in Fig. 2, and results w ere
seen to be more efficient, and produce, longer-life
emulsions are used more than tape water emulsions and
indicate good stability appearance and performance when
be tested on diesel engine many advanced tests must be
Experimental work: The water addition ranges between
0-30% and the maximum water content arrives to 40%.
The mixing created by an homogenizer device which
water particles become micro-explode due to the
discrepancy of the boiling point between the diesel and
the water (boiling point of water 100 o C, boiling point of
the diesel 185 o C) so that the emulsion fuel drops divided
into finer particles and its leads to increasing the volatility
of the fuel and that affect clearly on the combustion
efficiency. The mixture is immediately injected and
atomized within the engine's combustion chamber. The
heat inside the com bustion chamber causes the water
droplets to vaporize into steam. Creating the steam uses
up energy and lowers the peak combustion temperature.
At the same time, w hen the w ater droplets vaporize, they
produce "micro-explosions" inside the surrounding fuel
droplets. The micro-explosions expose more of the fuel's
surface area to the air, which increases combustion. Just
as a block of ice melts(i.e., releases energy) faster when
it's shattered into small chips the fuel burns (releases
energy) more com pletely after it has been shattered by the
micro-explosions also release the water's two elements hydrogen and oxygen. The additional ox ygen inhib its the
formation of the comp ound called PAH (Polycy clic
Aromatic Hydrocarbons). D uring com bustion, PAH is not
burned completely; the unburned PAH becomes
particulate matter (PM). By reducing the amount of PAH,
the additional oxygen also reduces th e p ro du ction of PM .
The reduction is on the order of two to three times the
water content of the water-in-fuel emulsion (i.e., a 20%
water content would re duce PA H- genera ted particulate
matter by 40 to 60%). The color of the regular fuel is
changed to a white milky color that it's guided to changes
the regular fuel properties, this color makes many
questions and suggestion on the consume rs, the w hite
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Res. J. Appl. Scil Eng. Technol., 2(3): 268-273, 2010
Fig. 2: Stability tests on water diesel emulsion fuel
run out to explain this result but simply salts being
dissolved in tape water effect negatively on surfactant
function and so on stability time, as a result using
dematerialized water in emulsions is recommended. These
samples (25% water content) were chosen arbitrarily;
emulsion samples that contain less amount of water may
be more stable or have longer stability time (Ganesson
and Ram esh, 2002; Harb ach and A gosta, 1991 ).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this work w ater in diesel emu lsion w as tested in
(CI) to investigate the effect of water emulsification on
the most two important consideration of any engine:
Performance of the engine, and to compare the efficiency
of the engine o f the emulsion and the pu re fuel (pure
diesel). Performance analysis was studied on a single
cylinder, direct injection engine. Performance analysis
includes torque, brake power, and thermal efficiency.
Several diesels (CI) engine tested using water in the
(diesel) emu lsion has been co nducted in this study; five
samples (blend s) we re tested: pure diesel, diesel
surfactant + 10, 15, 20, 25% water by volume. For each
run the engine was started on pure diesel and then
switched to the test sample. All tests were run out at
constant load, variable engine speed operating at 10001500 rpm. The performance analysis gives a high
knowledgment on feasibility of used water-diesel
emulsion fuel and discovers the advantages and
disadvantages of this new fuel product. The effect of
wa ter addition on the form of emulsion on the engine
output torque is shown in Fig. 3. The torque is a function
of engine speed, at low sp eed, torque increase as engine
speed increase, reaches a maximum value, then the speed
increases. Also as shown in Fig. 3 the percentage of
Fig. 3: Engine torque versus engine speed using water diesel
emulsion
Fig. 4: Engine power output versus engine speed using water
diesel emulsion
water in the em ulsion increases, the torque produced will
increase. This may be attributed to the additional force on
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Res. J. Appl. Scil Eng. Technol., 2(3): 268-273, 2010
top of piston provided by the pressure exerted by the
steam. When the charge is fired in the cylinder, the water
would turn to high-pressure steam. In addition, the higher
viscosity of the emulsified fuel than that of the base fuel
(diesel) and the presence of water promote a finer, cloud
like atomization of the emulsified mixture during
injection . Result in imp roving efficiency significantly.
The effect of the emulsion on the engine pow er is
shown in Fig. 4, the pow er increases as engine speed
increases, and decreases at higher speeds, this is because
friction losses increase with speed and become the
dominant factor at very high speed. Also Fig. 4 shows that
the power increases slightly as the water percentage
increases. The increase in power output for the emulsion
is because water in the emulsion influences combustion of
the fuel. It was found that the introdu ction of water in
diesel prolongs the ignition delay. The ignition delay
period is when the fuel that has been injected into the
cylinder is undergoing chemical and physical preparation
for combustion. Thus, the emulsion fuel requires less
compression (nega tive) w ork tha n the diesel due to the
longer ignition delay during the compression stroke. This
helps to reach a higher peak pressu re after TDC to
produce more power output during the expansion stroke.
In addition, when the ignition delay increa ses, more
diesels would be physically prepared (evaporation,
mixing) for chemical reaction, which increases the
amount of diesel burned and the rate of heat release in the
premixed burning. This result enhances the combustion
and impro ves the com bustion efficiency.
Figure 5 shows that as the water percentage in the
emulsion increases, the brake efficiency causes the BSFC
will increase then the efficiency will increase, this is
because as the percentage of water in the emulsion
increases, a larger amount of diesel is displaced by an
equal amount of water. This means that less diesel fu el is
actually contained w ithin each volume of the emulsion. It
is clear from Fig. 5 that as the percentage of water of the
emulsion increases, BSFC of diesel decreases. The
minimum value occurs at a water percentage 25% by
volume.
W ater in benzene was tested in (SI) engine to
investigate the effect of water emulsification on the most
two important consideration of any engine: Performance
of the engine, and to compare the efficiency of the engine
of the emulsion and the pure fuel (pure benzene).
Performance analyses were studied on a single cylinder,
direct injection engine. Performance analysis includes
torque, brake power, and thermal efficiency. Several
benzene engin e tested using water in the benzene,
emulsion have been cond ucted in this study; four samples
(blends) were tested: pure benzene, benzene fuel
+surfactant + 5, 10, 15% water by volume. For each run
the engine was started on pure benzene and then switched
to the test sample. A ll tests were run out at constant load,
variab le engine speed operating at 1000-1500 rpm. The
Fig. 5: Engine brake efficiency versus engine speed using water
diesel emulsion
Fig. 6: Engine torque versus engine speed using water benzene
emulsion
Fig. 7: Engine power output versus engine speed using water
diesel emulsion
performance analysis gives a high knowledgment on
feasibility of used water benzene emulsion fuel and
discovers the advan tages and disadvantages of this new
fuel product. The results for burning the emulsion fuel and
regular benzene can show below. The effect of water
addition on the form of emulsion on the engine output
torque is shown in Fig. 6. The torque is a function of
engine speed, at low speed, torque increase as engine
speed increase, reaches a maximum value, then the speed
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Res. J. Appl. Scil Eng. Technol., 2(3): 268-273, 2010
Fig. 8: Engine brake efficiency versus engine speed using water
diesel emulsion
decrease. As shown in Fig. 6 the percentag e of w ater in
the emulsion increases, the torque produced will increase.
This may be attributed to the additional force on top of
piston provided by the pressure exerted b y the steam. In
benzene the torque will decreases when the percentage of
water up of 15% because the pressure in piston will
increase that will effect to the cylinder and increase the
(negative) work of the cylinder. In addition, the higher
viscosity of the emulsified fuel than that of the base fuel
(benzene) and the presence of water promote a finer,
cloud like atom ization of the emulsified mixture during
injection. Result in improving efficiency significantly.
The effect of the emulsion on the engin e pow er is
shown in Fig. 7, the power increases as engine speed
increases, and decreases at higher speeds, this is because
friction losses increase with speed and become the
dominant factor at very high speed and for the high
pressure because the high density and viscosity in the
emulsion contents, and the designing of the piston and
cylinder can't maintain this effects. Figure 7 shows that
the pow er increases slightly as the water percentage
increases. The increase in power output for the emulsion
is because water in the emulsion influences combustion of
the fuel. It was found tha t the introd uction of water in
diesel prolon gs the ignition delay. The ignition delay
period is when the fuel that has been injected into the
cylinder is undergoing chemical and physical preparation
for combustion. Thus, the emulsion fuel requires less
compression (negative) work than the diesel due to the
longer ignition delay during the compression stroke. This
helps to reach a higher peak p ressure after TDC to
produce more power output during the expansion stroke.
In addition, when the ignition delay increases, more
benzene wou ld be physically prepared (evaporation,
mixing) for chemical reaction, which increases the
amount of benzene burned and the rate of heat relea se in
the premixed burning. But in benzene emulsion when the
emulsion is burned up of 15% containing water the engine
is vibrated and becomes noisy because of the effect of
high pressure in the cylinder in high speed.
Figure 8 shows that as the water percentage in the
emulsion increases, the brake efficiency causes the BSFC
will increase then the efficiency will increa se, this is
because as the percentage of water in the emulsion
increases, a larger amount of benzene is displaced by an
equal amount of water. This means that less benzene fuel
is actually contained within each volume of the emulsion.
It is clear from the Fig. 8 that as the percentage of water
of the emulsion increases, efficiency sill increases. The
minimum value occurs at a water percentage 15% by
volume. The reduction in BSFC with water emulsified
benzene may be attributed to formation of a finer spray
due to rapid evaporation in the water, longer ignition
delay results in more fuel burning in premixed
combustion and suppression of thermal dissociation due
to lower cylinder average temperature, and it caused high
temperature in cylinder and engine. The evaporation and
additional mass of w ater cause the cylinder average
temperature to become lower as the water amount was
increased (John, 1988; Obert, 1973; Sharma and
Mathur, 1981).
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